“Racecraft in the Odyssey and Argonautica” is the title of the upcoming lecture by Jackie Murray (Associate Professor of Classics, University of Kentucky). Dr. Murray’s talk is the 14th Annual E. Adelaide Hahn Memorial Lecture of the Classics Program of the Department of Classical and Oriental Studies at Hunter College.
As the most authoritative storytelling form, the epic had widespread cultural authority and influence among all ancient Greek societies.
In Race-craft in the Odyssey and Argonautica, Dr. Jackie Murray explores race in ancient Greek epic using critical race theory. She argues that the epic tradition bequeathed to subsequent poets more than just the language, meter, heroes, etc., it also left them a heroic world with a racialized power structure and a legacy of literary devices and techniques to reproduce and sustain it.
Through close readings of the Odyssey and Argonautica, Dr. Murray’s presentation applies a trans-historical description of race and racism to capture both how ancient racial categories were socially constructed and how epic storytelling reproduced, justified, and naturalized this construction.
This event is open to the public. Registration in advance is required for this Zoom webinar here. After registering, prospective participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Further info is provided by Lawrence Kowerski, Classics Program Head in his email, lawrence.kowerski@hunter.